The Lone Stars Project: John Miles

John Miles has a lot of he could be bitter about.

He came along during baseball’s apartheid era, when whites played in one set of leagues and African-Americans in another. And then when that wall began to crumble with the signing of Jackie Robinson in 1947, Miles and a lot of others were left outside by a sport that was slow to adapt. Those who played in the Negro Leagues after Jackie Robinson’s debut have been forgotten by most, and all but ignored by baseball historians.

But John Miles isn’t bitter. He is, in fact, one of the happier people around. He got to play baseball for years - at one point, he had his own semi-pro team in San Antonio - and after he was done with baseball, he developed a passion for golf.

His positive outlook on life rubs off wherever he goes, and he’s just as happy to talk to a half-dozen schoolchildren as he is to a room full of adults. He’s also armed with his own baseball card everywhere he goes, signing with a flourish and a smile. He’s as good an ambassador as baseball has in South Texas.

“Mule”Miles was the first ballplayer to sign Lone Stars of the Diamond, and his signature is in a unique place, as one of the few remaining Negro Leaguers from Texas.